Review: Stardom – 2017.10.14 – Goddesses of Stardom Tag League – Day 1

Ruaka vs. Hanan
A little different from most Stardom openers as this had far more grappling and a lot less pin attempts, which is definitely a good thing. The main part of the match was dominated by a big Boston crab by Ruaka. Hanan sold it very well and got to the ropes before Ruaka dragged her back to the middle and Hanan had to fight out again. They traded a few basic moves before Hanan got the pin for the win. 1.75/5

Kris Wolf vs. Kaori Yoneyama
A pretty poor match compared to what I would expect from these two. It was an extremely slow start and nothing much happened until the last two minutes. Kaori Yoneyama tied Kris Wolf’s tail to the ropes but Tam Nakano helped her free and Kris landed a dropkick. Kris then had a pretty bad botch as she ran up the turnbuckle and fell quite awkwardly. She didn’t seem to let it affect her too much though and quickly hit a confident springboard crossbody. Kaori Yoneyama pinned Kris Wolf after a nice tandem rolling spot. 2.25/5

Kelly Klein & Bea Priestley vs. AZM & Starlight Kid
This was really enjoyable. AZM & Starlight Kid make a great team and I hope they continue together going forward. They were both really impressive in this match hitting all their moves as well as making Klein & Priestley’s moves look good. Starlight’s hurricanrana & AZM’s octopus stretch looked as great as ever. This match didn’t really allow Klein & Priestley to show too much of what they are capable of other than a couple of power moves so it will be interesting to see how they do against opposition that will allow them more freedom. Bea Priestley pinned AZM for the win. 2.75/5

Chardonnay & Scarlett vs. Natsuko Tora & Shiki Shibusawa
Shiki still looks incredibly awkward in her movement and selling but at least she had no major botches in this match. Natsuko looked good when she was in and hit a nice double spear. Chardonnay & Scarlett didn’t really get much of a chance to show what they can do and the match in general was very limited. Chardonnay pinned Shiki Shibusawa for the win. 1.75/5

Kagetsu & Hana Kimura vs. Konami & Hiromi Mimura
I was slightly disappointed by this. The match went out of the ring early for the usual throwing into chairs spots and Kagetsu spat somebody’s drink on Hiromi’s face before Hiromi was isolated in the ring for a while. Konami eventually got in but there was a lack of any real impact or interesting moments until the last few minutes where Hiromi got to display more of her character with her great long setup for her dropkicks and Hana Kimura locked in a great octopus stretch to subit Hiromi Mimura for the win. 3/5

Io Shirai & HZK vs. Yoko Bito & Jungle Kyona
This was immediately better than the last match thanks to the intensity that Jungle Kyona & HZK both bring when they are in the ring together. It was a solid match throughout with great emotion displayed, especially by Kyona. Despite their characters not having much chemistry, it was interesting to see Kyona & Bito have a few nice double team moves and spots. Io Shirai pinned Jungle Kyona after a moonsault. 3.75/5